The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Pole \Pole\, n. [As. p[=a]l, L. palus, akin to pangere to make
   fast. Cf. Pale a stake, Pact.]
   1. A long, slender piece of wood; a tall, slender piece of
      timber; the stem of a small tree whose branches have been
      removed; as, specifically:
      (a) A carriage pole, a wooden bar extending from the front
          axle of a carriage between the wheel horses, by which
          the carriage is guided and held back.
      (b) A flag pole, a pole on which a flag is supported.
      (c) A Maypole. See Maypole.
      (d) A barber's pole, a pole painted in stripes, used as a
          sign by barbers and hairdressers.
      (e) A pole on which climbing beans, hops, or other vines,
          are trained.
          [1913 Webster]

   2. A measuring stick; also, a measure of length equal to 5?
      yards, or a square measure equal to 30? square yards; a
      rod; a perch. --Bacon.
      [1913 Webster]

   Pole bean (Bot.), any kind of bean which is customarily
      trained on poles, as the scarlet runner or the Lima bean.


   Pole flounder (Zool.), a large deep-water flounder
      (Glyptocephalus cynoglossus), native of the northern
      coasts of Europe and America, and much esteemed as a food
      fish; -- called also craig flounder, and pole fluke.


   Pole lathe, a simple form of lathe, or a substitute for a
      lathe, in which the work is turned by means of a cord
      passing around it, one end being fastened to the treadle,
      and the other to an elastic pole above.

   Pole mast (Naut.), a mast formed from a single piece or
      from a single tree.

   Pole of a lens (Opt.), the point where the principal axis
      meets the surface.

   Pole plate (Arch.), a horizontal timber resting on the
      tiebeams of a roof and receiving the ends of the rafters.
      It differs from the plate in not resting on the wall.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

pole bean
    n 1: a climbing bean plant that will climb a wall or tree or
         trellis